WVU opens camp needing answers at quarterback, defense

Dominion Post

3 days ago

MORGANTOWN — The West Virginia football season is almost here. On July 30, WVU starts its first day of training camp, preparing for the 2025 season opener on Aug. 30 against Robert Morris.
The practice field will have pads clashing, whistles blown, water bottles squeezed, and Rich Rodriguez yelling, 'spot the ball.' WVU football will be back, with shades of the early 2000s, because Rodriguez is back at the helm.
Training camp isn't a time to reminisce about the old times because there's a lot of work and questions, with so much unknown this season. There are 70-plus transfers and a whole new coaching staff. Finally, Rodriguez knows who's on his roster, despite still putting names to faces.
Training camp is the time to answer some of the questions before the first game. There are a lot, but here are some of the biggest questions before training camp starts.
The biggest question on every fan's mind, and even Rodriguez's, is who will be the signal caller when the first offensive snap goes off for WVU. Rodriguez didn't name a starter all through spring camp and didn't name one during his couple of interviews at Big 12 Media Day in July. No one knows. Some fans even wanted BYU transfer Jake Retzlaff to join the room.
There's no clear favorite, either, at least according to Rodriguez. He has to pick between WVU returner Nicco Marchiol, Texas A&M transfer Jaylen Henderson, or Charlotte transfer Max Brown. All three have taken snaps at the Division I level at some point. Rodriguez even said he's like what he saw from the younger guys.
Marchiol is the most well-known by WVU fans. He's been a Mountaineer since 2022 and started in two games last season, going 2-0. If Neal Brown were still around, and now that Garrett Greene is gone, it wouldn't have been a question. Marchiol would be the starter. With a whole new staff at WVU, Marchiol isn't entitled to anything, and Rodriguez was unsure about Marchiol, adding two quarterbacks out of the portal.
Based on the Gold-Blue Spring Showcase, Marchiol looked solid, but a lot can change since the start of April.
Seems like outsiders project Henderson to be WVU's starter for 2025. DraftKings listed Henderson as WVU's representative for the Big 12 passing leader prop, and he's the starter in EA's College Football 26.
Henderson is the most experienced quarterback in the room, but that doesn't mean he's the best. He's jumped from Fresno State to Texas A&M and didn't see much success at either school. He played the most with the Aggies, but that was in 2023, and he didn't see a snap under Mike Elko in 2024. In 2023, Henderson started the final four games of the season and went 2-2. Elko didn't think Henderson was the future from his performance, and Henderson transferred, hoping to get the starting role once again.
Brown is a bit of a longshot to start, but there's still a possibility. He's appeared in 10 games over the past two seasons at Charlotte and Florida. He never got a starting shot, though. Brown was an effective runner in the Gold-Blue game.
Rodriguez has options. There's no clear starter, while fans and experts might have their favorites. By the end of fall camp, Rodriguez will name a starter if one clearly emerges. He didn't rule out running a dual quarterback system if neither stands out.
WVU's defense as a whole wasn't good. The Mountaineers allowed 31.9 points per game last year, which was third-to-last in the conference. Rodriguez reunited with Zac Alley to hopefully turn the defense around.
The biggest part of Alley's defense is his utilization of his linebackers and secondary. The linebacker room has familiar faces, like Reid Carrico, but the secondary lost members to the NFL and the transfer portal. It'll look pretty new in 2025, with every spot up for grabs.
Rodriguez and Alley used the portal to fill gaps in the secondary. Rodriguez added several players, and a couple will probably start in 2025. Nevada's Michael Coats Jr. could start at corner, and Jacksonville State transfer Fred Perry and Chattanooga transfer Jordan Walker could start at safety. There are a couple of other transfers that could start in the secondary, too.
After the starters become clear, then there's adapting to Alley's scheme. It's more aggressive than others and had success in 2024, ranking 7th in the high-powered SEC. Alley's secondary is physical, so players will have to adjust.
There's a lot on the plate for WVU's secondary in preseason, with not one starting spot solidified.
The media didn't speak to a lot of players this spring or at Big 12 Media Days, but the ones that spoke said they wanted to use the summer to get into 'tempo shape.' Tempo shape is being conditioned enough to run Rodriguez's fast-paced offense, where once the ball is spotted, his offense is ready to run the next play.
Most of the summer workouts revolved around tempo, with short rest and a lot of running. During the summer, the players said they were still working on their conditioning.
Tempo is a big part of Rodriguez's scheme, so it'll be important to see if his team can run it come fall. And it's not just the offense that'll need to be in tempo shape either. Since Rodriguez's offense runs tempo, the defense has to be in tempo shape to stop it. A lot of other offenses run tempo, too, so getting into shape will be important.
The question is whether the team can be in shape before the first game to run Rodriguez's scheme efficiently and effectively. If not, it could be a long season.